Vancouver or Toronto, Which one is better?

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Vancouver or Toronto, which one is more expensive? which one is better to live in? Vancouver or Toronto for studying? Which one is better for vacation?

According to WorldAtlas, Canada is one of the best countries to live in.

Three Canadian cities are also among the top 10 cities for quality of living including Vancouver and Toronto.

Many people around the world like to live in one of these cities, but they’re so good and similar that it’s hard to choose one.

In this article, we will compare the weather, job market, living expenses and, education.

Weather

Canada is famous for its harsh snowy winters which is true about most parts except south western coast province, British Columbia.

Vancouver is the biggest city in this province while Victoria is its capital.

Winter

Vancouver has a very mild winter compared to Toronto.

It only snows for about a week during winter but you can’t go like, “This one is the best!”, Actually, despite its heavy snow, Toronto gets more sunshine throughout the winter, confusing, right?

It snows for like 2 days and then they have 5 sunny days while snow is still sitting in the city and then it snows again. On the other hand, Vancouver is raining for more than 9 months during the year (I live in Vancouver, it’s first hand information) and winters are way too grey and depressing. sun comes up at 7 AM and disappears at 4 PM. by “Sun” i mean only the definition of daylight, not the sunshine itself!

In Vancouver, you almost never have to wear thick layers as you do in Toronto (every other part of Canada).

Toronto (left) / Vancouver (right)

Job Market

To be honest, Toronto is much better than Vancouver if you are planning to find any kind of job.

It has a thriving economy with tons of opportunities and room for growth.

Vancouver has a much smaller economy and because of rich immigrants who choose to live in Vancouver, the prices go up too fast each year and there’s not much job openings compared to Toronto.

Vancouver is famous for its Hollywood-related companies and they even call it “Hollywood north” but it’s been about two years that companies shoot more movies in Toronto compared to Vancouver.

In Vancouver’s job market, almost everyone knows everyone! I came across people identifying their colleagues a dozen times.

Toronto is different tho, It’s a real big economy!

Living expenses

Cost of living in Toronto is slightly more than Vancouver

Vancouver used to have a significant higher housing prices a few years back but thanks to rich immigrants, Toronto’s prices skyrocketed too and now Vancouver is only %2 higher in prices.

For example, a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown is about $2100 and $1700 outside of downtown in both cities.

It’s much harder to find a place to rent in Vancouver tho! There are 9 available homes to rent for every 10 renters which results to more choices for the landlords. in more popular areas, you may have to fill out an application form, mentioning a lot of details about yourself even for the basements.

Vancouver’s harbor residential apartments

Education

Both cities have great universities and colleges like UBC in Vancouver and University of Toronto in Toronto.

Transportation is good in both cities and have discount for students.

Both cities are diverse, (Especially Vancouver) and racism is rare in them.

The only difference is that are better job opportunities both for internship and after graduation in Toronto.

UBC (Left)/ U of To (Right)

Do you have any experience in one of these cities? have any questions?
Leave them in the comment below.

Published by Delusional Bubble

Your travel guide to the fantastic unknown places around the world

41 thoughts on “Vancouver or Toronto, Which one is better?”

    1. I hear you! I have the exact Same issue!
      I live in Vancouver and know that there are more opportunities in Toronto, but even thinking of the Toronto winters scares me! Lol
      Thank you for your comment!

      Reply

  5. I’ve lived in and enjoyed them both. For scenic beauty and outdoor nature/recreational activities, Vancouver is the place to be. Toronto has a great urban culture with wonderfully diverse neighbourhoods.

    Reply

  8. I went to Expo ’86 in Vancouver. I was too young (9) for the city to really make any kind of lasting impression on me. Your description of the weather sounds exactly why I have politely declined in the past when friends from the parts of the US close to Vancouver have encouraged me to move near them. I need more sun than that. I’d like to go back someday, but I haven’t been very motivated to take long trips at this point in my life. Maybe someday when I’m retired. Hopefully sooner.

    Reply

  13. Vancouver, the fifth most densely populated city in North America, has about 5,500 inhabitants/km² (2,500 inhabitants/km² in the metropolitan zone) compared to over 9,000 inhabitants/km² in Bucharest, Romania.

    Reply

  14. I vote for Vancouver, eventhough the job market sucks and most of us normal people can’t have any savings!

    Reply

  16. Toronto is a great city. I worked there couple of months and found good public transport, affordable food and great parks to go to in mississauga and port credit areas. Nice Post!

    Reply

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